RR # 1 Persepolis

Reader Response #1 Persepolis

Persepolis is where a young Marjane Satrapi grew up in Iran. She lived her days in an Islamic Revolution. In the beginning she tells the reader how the rise of her people were living in a happy and well balanced civilization. Marjane speaks of how the government control destroyed a lot of lives in Iran. How in school boys were separated from girls and girls had to wear a bonnet. In her years as a child she learns the history of what Iran is going through, the conflicts people had to face and how their lives will change from the government. Maryjane joins the revolution fight with her nanny but has no clue of what she is doing.

Marjane encounters a change in her school, children were divided up in two groups from boys and girls. The girls had to wear a veil over there head but have no clue why as Marjane explained “We didn’t really like to wear the veil, especially since we didn’t understand why we had to. (Satrapi 3). Marjane was in the beginning of a “Cultural Revolution.” Maryjane’s mother joined a demonstration and had her picture on the newspaper. Little Marjane knot know why her mother was scarred for her life seeing herself in the newspaper. The mother had to change her appearance to avoid any problems from outside the house. The father not being in the newspaper as well, set outside and went to the demonstration and took pictures of the whole event. At school when demonstrators were happening at the time she had gone to school Maryjane encountered a problem with one of the teachers. Marjane’s beliefs were offset from others when at first she wanted to grow up as a prophet but said a doctor to trick every one of her plan. She wanted to change Iran. Marjane “Wanted to be Justice, Love and the wrath of god all in one.” (9).

Marjane talked about how the King was presented by god but the father had to explain everything to Marjane as she may not understand the story. Her father said “At the time, your grandpa was a young man and the father of the Shah confiscated everything he owned.” (23). The uncle became a communist instead and the Iranian police searched everywhere for him to put under arrest for breaking the law. Another encounter occurred when Maryjane’s nanny first appeared, she was a teenager and came over a frequently when she met this boy across the street from the house the nanny was watching. Apparently she had fallen in love with this boy a few times after visiting a few times. The nanny had fallen so in love that Maryjane had to write all the letters to the boy across the street. Not knowing what could happen the nanny kept having Marjane write letters to the boy. One day the nanny’s story was spread throughout the family as the uncle heard, and the uncle told the grandmother, whom the grandmother told the mother and eventually the father heard and went over to the boy’s house to confess who the nanny is.

It’s not easy living in a country as it’s starting to crumble down. There shouldn’t be a reason why any boys and girls should separate because of religious beliefs. Little girls should choose if they want to wear a veil at school or not. When it come to love and romance, both females and males should be free to whom they want to be with instead of staying with your own social class.